Improvement in elevated railways



2Sheets--Sheetl. R. H. GILBERT.

Elevated Railways. 910,152,625, Patented June 30,1874.

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UNIT D STATES PATENT- Orrron RUFUS H. GILBERT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN ELEVATED RAILWAVS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 152,625, dated June 30,1874 application tiled October 15, 1872.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RUFUs H. GILBERT, of thecity and county of New York and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Elevated Railways; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which- Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a transverse sectionof an elevated railway constructed in accordance with my improvements;and Fig. 2, Sheet 2, is a side elevation of the same.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawings indicate thesame parts.

My invention has for its object to improve the construction of elevatedrailways, for the purpose of producing a strong and durable structurewhich shall unite beauty and symmetry of architectural design with themost approved principles of en gineerin The general features of therailway consist in arched girders supported at suitable distances uponornamental columns, so as to span a street from curb to curb, a seriesof trusses connecting the girders, and the rails of the road supportedbyboth girders and trusses.

The invention consists, first, in constructing the girders in the formof an arch, having a str. ight chord, and with tension-rods,suspensionrods, and braces, so arranged as to leave a clear space in thecenter of the girders for the passage of the cars, and which shallenable the girders to sustain the weight of a train without sagging uponone side the center, and without hipping the girder upon the oppositeside. It consists, secondly, in connecting the arched girders with thetop chords of the intermediate trusses by means of tie-beams, to preventthe longitudinal swing or rack of the railway. It consists, thirdly, inthe combination of safety-guards with the railway, so arranged, inconnection with other parts, as to dispose of rain and snow mostadvantageously, to secure the safety of passengers in case of derailmentof a car, and to screen the movements of trains from the view of horsesin the streets below.

In the accompanying drawings, A A are ornamental columns, set in astreet at suitable distances apart along the line of the curb. B is thetransversearched girder, spanning the street from column to column, andconstructed in the following manner: (J is the chord of the girder,composed of two I-beams bolted together with a shorter beam, D, betweenthem, as shown, and so laid as to extend across the street from the topsof two opposite columns, to which it is firmly secured. E E are braces,extending from the inside of the columns upward to the chord at aboutthe point 1 f, where they abut against the ends of the short beam 1),and are bolted between the I beams of the chord. G is the arch of thegirder, resting upon the tops of the columns, and securely fastenedbetween the beams of the chord. It is composed of two parallel I- beamsfastened together with intermediate blocks 9 arranged at suitableintervals to hold them a short distance apart. h h are verticalsuspension-rods, connecting the arch with the chord beneath it, andarranged as shown so as to leave the central portion of the girder clearfor the rails and the movement of cars. t t are intermediatetension-rods, connecting the arch with the chord, to which they are secured, so as to radiate at suitable angles from a common center near thefeet of the rods h.

As a convenient method of attachment, I prefer to construct the outerends of the rods h i fork-shaped, to embrace the arch and blocks 9, sothat single rods may be used, and but one bolt at the outer end of each.

By this construction and arrangement of the parts a clear center is leftthrough the girder, and the weight of metal so disposed as best toresist the compressive and tensile forces resulting from the unequaldistribution of weight in the movement of trains.

For the purpose of symmetry, I carry the braces to a point where theymeet the lower surface of the beam D, so as to form an unbroken lineextending from column to column. The angle above the braces may befilled with any ornamental scroll-work, as well as the space above thecrown of the arch, or pneu' matic dispatch-tubes may occupy the spacestherein.

J J are the trusses, connecting the transverse arched girders in linewith their central passages. They are supported by the girders,

and constructed in the usual manner. L L are the tie-beams, extendingfrom the top chords of the trusses directly to or through the arches ofthe girders between the suspension-rods h, for the purpose of stiffeningthe structure, and preventing its longitudinal swing in stopping; orstarting trains.

At certain intervals along the line of road the trusses are inverted, asshown at M, for the purpose of forming a suitable platform or stationfor passengers and freight. When so employed the truss is madeconsiderably stronger and of less depth vertically. N are thelongitudinal sleepers, extending through the girders and trusses; and Oare the crossties, which support the rails P, and which may be laid toform a continuous flooring. Q are the curved or inclined guards,extending along the road outside the rails, with their upper edgessecured 'to the trusses and girders, and their lower edges tolongitudinal strips 1' fastened to the ties.

The guards are of sufficient height to pre vent objects from falling offthe road to the street below, and their inclined position directs snowand rain downward upon the flooring of the road, from. whence they canbe carried off to the ground by suitable pipes or other conduits.

The strips 4* project to a sufficient height above the rails, to preventa derailed car from being thrown oif the road, or even against the sidesof the trusses. The safety of the pas sengers is therefore assured underall circumstances, and the trusses and girders protected from injury.The inclined portions of the guards also act as screens, to preventhorses upon the streets below from seeing the moving trains, andbecoming frightened thereby.

I propose to arrange one or more pneumatic dispatch tubes, T, along thegirders and trusses, in positions where they shall not in- V terferewith the movements or working of the trains. I also propose to placesuitable heating-pipes at one or more convenient points between or nearthe rails, for the purpose of melting the snow and ice as theyaccumulate upon the road.

If desired, suitable packing-strips of rubber, compressed wool, or othermaterial, may be placed at the joints of the structure to deaden thesound and relieve concussion.

To allow for contraction and expansion of metal, I leave alternatesections of the railway free to slide upon saddle-plates placed upon thechords of the girders.

I do not claim forming the ends of iron trusses on a curve with radialtension-rods; but

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In an elevatedrailway, a transversearched girder supported upon columns, and having aclear center for the passage of trains, substantially as described, forthe purposes specified.

2. The transverse-arched girders, supported upon columns, and consistingof the chord O D and arch G, combined with the suspensionrods h,tension-rods i, and braces E, substantially as described, for thepurposes specified.

3. In combination with the transverse-arched girders B, supported upontwo columns, the intermediate trusses J upon each side of the railway,substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

4. In combination with the transverse-arched girders B and the trussesJ, the tie-beams L, substantially as described, for the purposespecified.

5. The guards Q 1', in combination with the elevated railway,substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

6.An elevated railway, consisting of the transverse-arched girders B,the connectingtrusses J, and the inverted trusses M, the whole sustainedby suitable supports, substantially as described, for the purposespecified.

Witnesses: RUFUS II. GILBERT.

WM. FOSTER, Jr., (J. II. MARTIN.

